Power At Home

Just as power plants have two separate concerns about electricity (meeting current power needs and having enough energy to turn the crank all day), consumers have to be concerned about power and energy also.

• If the power demands in a house are too great, there will be an unsafe level of current in the wires. Fuses and circuit breakers are designed to shut off the current to prevent a fire or damage to the device.
• Even if the power demands are within safe limits, the consumer should be concerned about the total cost of all the energy they consume, which is a product of both power needs and time of use. Even a safe level of power consumption will add up to a large utility bill, if the device is operating continuously!

In today's lesson, you will operate a simulation that allows you to see how quickly appliances consume energy. In this simulation, you will have three different outlets for appliances, and you can choose which appliances to plug in. The time frame is speeded up to allow you to see how quickly each appliance consumes energy. The accompanying quia quiz will test your understanding of the simulation! You are welcome to use the simulation as you answer the questions, and you are welcome to work with a neighboring student on the quiz.

• Open the simulation in a new window, by control-clicking this link.
• Open the quia quiz in another new window, by control-clicking this link.

If you finish the quiz with time remaining, create multiple choice questions related to power or energy, and post them to the discussion tab on this page!